Portrait of the Heart
by OrionFowl
Summary: How to express feelings without words on Valentine's day. Or, Juniper tries to find the words to describe how she feels when Robin wants to show her a very special piece of art. Spoilers for Dual Destinies.


**A/N: NewWoods is the core pairing of this account. Yet I have provided no content for this pairing recently, which is clearly something I must fix. Hence, this one-shot I wrote and am sharing with all my fans. It's time for femslash!**

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 **Portrait of the Heart: A NewWoods one-shot**

February 14, 2028

Themis Legal Academy

10:00 a.m.

Normally, Juniper Woods would be paying attention to the lecture. Ever since this morning, however, her focus was entirely shot. Her mind kept replaying the encounter she'd had over and over again.

Juniper hadn't been expecting much from today in the first place- so when her close friend Robin Newman came up to her before classes started Juniper wasn't prepared for what she said.

"Juniper! Meet me in the art room during the lunch period!" Robin exclaimed, clearly nervous. "I need to show you something!"

"Really? What are you going to show me?" Juniper asked curiously. That was when it happened.

Robin's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. "Something. That I've been working on for like a really long time! So I want to hear what you think of it! Actually, I need to make sure it's ready- excuse me!"

Before Juniper could say anything Robin took off at top speed, leaving Juniper feeling distinctly bewildered and flustered. Hugh, who had been hanging around Juniper before Robin showed up, smirked and adjusted his glasses.

"I would do what Robin says, if I were you," Hugh said, amused. "She looks wound up so tight she's liable to burst. Not that that wouldn't be a sight to behold."

The humorous comment was enough to snap Juniper out of her stupor. Probing Hugh further on what just happened, Hugh said that he helped Robin a bit with the project, and that "Robin's poured so much into this project, so I know you'll enjoy it." That was how the conversation ended before the two friends had to part ways for their classes.

Well, it certainly couldn't be denied that Robin was a wonderful artist. Far too harsh on herself and her creations, but what Robin did successfully create was invariably beautiful. The immediate example that sprung to the judge student's mind was of the time when Robin (still pretending to be a guy) and their late mentor Constance Courte made portraits of Juniper herself. Courte's version was colorful and quirky- while Robin's version had a sort of direct beauty that couldn't be defined.

This in turn caused Juniper to recall the occasion- the judge student seated in a chair to model, her mentor and her friend both with intense concentration on their faces. Funny enough, the women's painting style was the opposite of what one would expect: The usually cool-headed Constance Courte painted with wild ferocity, while the hot-headed Robin Newman painted with careful precision, hence their starkly different paintings.

Even with how focused Robin was on her painting, her eyes sparkled with genuine love and joy for her craft. It was certainly an infectious feeling, so Juniper could see why Robin continued to make art even with the high standards she set for herself.

So the anticipation of Robin's latest piece was a pleasant one, a warm feeling that settled in Juniper's chest. In general, Robin was very good at being encouraging- her passionate personality always encouraging Hugh or Juniper to do something new, the bright smile that had become so common after on Robin's face since she started living as a girl, the kind words Robin often gave to her friends just because she could….

"Juniper, your face is going pink, sss sss sss," Myriam said to Juniper as the two walked together to the cafeteria.

"Wait, is it really?" Juniper asked, still wary around Myriam despite befriending the reporter recently.

Myriam nodded, then her eyes widened as if she'd realized something. "Hey wait a second. Today is Valentine's day. Could it be that you have something planned? A secret encounter with for-"

"No, its nothing like that," Juniper said quickly. "Robin just wants to show me some art she made recently."

"Okay, if you say so, Kahk Kahk," Myriam said, winking. "And I'm totally sure you'll be able to tell me about this art afterwards."

Dismayed by the fact that Myriam hadn't been convinced, Juniper decided to give up on changing her mind and follow her into the cafeteria. The Judge student wanted to have a quick lunch before going to the art room.

Even considering Myriam's wild imagination, Juniper had to admit that the reporter had a point. It wasn't hard to imagine a scenario like this playing out in a romance novel. Where the painting was in fact an expression of Robin's feelings….

Juniper shook her head to get her thoughts straight. Surely that wasn't what was going to happen. Though if it could happen…. It wasn't a bad thing to imagine, as a what if. Any art of Robin's derived from affection like that was guaranteed to be gorgeous, much like-

Myriam noticed Juniper turning pink again but wisely decided to stay quiet this time. Myriam was going to let Juniper go to this secret meeting- mainly so that the reporter could have her "I told you so" moment later.

February 14, 2028

Themis Legal Academy, Art Room

1:30 p.m.

As Juniper approached the door to the art room the feeling of anticipation from earlier returned, and stronger than ever. The Judge student even had to stop before she opened the door to collect herself- she wasn't even entirely sure what she was getting so worked up over.

In the art room Robin was waiting, just as nervous as she was before. Whatever she had made was covered by a white tarp, but judging by the silhouette it was a painting. Once Robin noticed that Juniper was in the room the artist turned to face her, hands laced behind her back.

"I'm so glad you came, Juniper!" Robin exclaimed, smiling.

"I- I'm glad to spend time with you, Robin," Juniper said, her breath catching at the sight of Robin. "Especially when it comes to your wonderful art."

Robin briefly broke eye contact, looking down as if deep in thought. After a minute of silence Robin appeared to make up her mind about something, because she looked up again and her eyes were filled with resolve.

"Well, I'm really happy to spend time with you too!" Robin said. "And lately I've been thinking about the times we've spent together."

As the artist continued speaking she grew visibly fidgety and- and was her face turning red again? Despite the million of "rational" reasons there could be for Robin to be acting the way she was, Juniper found she didn't want any of them to be true. Because that would mean-

"You know, sometimes I was afraid that if I told you and Hugh I was a girl, you would hate me for lying for so long and not want to be my friends anymore," Robin said, squeezing her proof of friendship. "So I was so relieved when that didn't happen."

"Of course we wouldn't have hated you! It's true that you did some desperate acts during that case," Juniper said. "But you understand what you did was wrong, and you only did what you did because your parents drove you into a corner. And it's not like you didn't do some great things, like when you stood up to Professor Means for Thena's sake."

That was a moment that Juniper would not forget: The sight of Robin rushing through the gallery with a furious look on her face, then shouting down Professor Means. Promptly after that Robin reassured Athena that she was a wonderful attorney, which was so encouraging to hear that Juniper and Hugh found themselves joining Robin at the witness stand to help Athena.

"At the time, I was just happy that everything worked out," Robin said. "And grateful that you decided to help me adjust to being a girl. It was during those times that I started wanting to be around you more often. And I started to imagine that maybe we could spend time together in places like a pretty lake, or a fun amusement park."

Yes, Robin was most certainly blushing, and yes this conversation was certainly headed in the direction that Juniper thought it was. And the Judge student didn't want to stop this conversation from continuing on like this. In fact, Juniper knew what she wanted to do was meet Robin at the destination, see eye to eye with her.

"So a couple of months I was painting something and it took a direction I didn't expect," Robin said, approaching the tarp-covered canvas. "But I didn't want to hide this away. Instead, I wanted to show it to you, because I know you'll understand what I'm trying to say, even if I can't find the words to actually say it right now."

With a flourish Robin removed the tarp, revealing the painting underneath: A painting of Juniper seated at the judge's bench, smiling gently. As with all of Robin's painting it was incredibly detailed, from the vivid sunflower in Juniper's hair to the wooden finish of the Judge's bench.

The detail that drew Juniper's eye, however, was the bright red heart outline that was painted around the Juniper in the painting. The rough quality of the heart made it clear that it was something that was added later- if Juniper had to guess, Robin painted it without even realizing what she was doing.

Looking at Robin, she noticed that the artist had covered her face with her hands, blushing again. The Judge student approached Robin, then removed her hands from her face. Then Juniper deliberately continued holding Robin's hands, something that did not fail to escape the artist's notice.

"I can understand why you couldn't find the words to say what you wanted," Juniper said. "There's been something I've been feeling that I couldn't to find the words to either."

Robin's eyes widened, and her blushing grew worse. Juniper knew by how hot her face felt that she was probably blushing too. Even so, Juniper knew that this is what she wanted.

"But the moment I saw this painting, I found the words I've been looking for," Juniper continued. "I can finally tell you how much I love your art, your laughter, your passion for everything you do. I can finally say that…. I love you, Robin."

Robin gasped and wrapped her arms around Juniper, with the Judge student returning the hug. The wonderful feeling of intimacy soon filled the entirety of Juniper's being with an indescribable warmth. In that moment Juniper knew- she wanted every day to be like this.

"I l-o-v-e you too, Juniper!" Robin exclaimed joyfully. "And I want make you happy every day! Not just as your friend, but as your girlfriend."

Girlfriend. Robin was now her girlfriend. Hugh, bless him, knew that this was going to happen and supported his two best friends in this new happiness that they had found with each other. Myriam was going to be absolutely smug, given that she'd technically right about the purpose of this meeting.

But every day with Robin was already such a joy for Juniper- so the only thing that would really change was that the two girls would find new ways of making each other smile.

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 **A/N: Today's theme is "unique confession". The paintings of Juniper in Turnabout Academy weren't really touched upon. So I took them and expanded their presence to this sweet piece. I'm working hard to bring more content here!** **Until then, this has been Orion Fowl, and thank you for visiting my Corner of Romance!**


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